WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan agreement to restore unemployment insurance benefits for more than 2.2 million jobless Americans cleared a key Senate hurdle Thursday but faces continued opposition from Republicans in the House, making final passage uncertain. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has called the Senate plan, which overcame a filibuster on a vote of 65-34, "unworkable. " A group of state benefits administrators has argued that their outdated computers will make it difficult to process jobless claims and prevent fraud under the Senate plan.

Republican Andy Vidak won an upset victory in last year's special election for a state Senate seat in the San Joaquin Valley. He prevailed despite the Democrats' 22-point advantage in voter registration in the district. How'd he do it? His explanation: "Our message was that common sense has no party lines. " But as The Times' Patrick McGreevy writes, his common sense might also have a lot to do with knowing when to shut up. "He sidestepped gay marriage and some other divisive issues - while taking a moderate approach to immigration," writes McGreevy.

WASHINGTON -- With the parties in Congress unable to find common ground on ways to help struggling middle-class voters, lawmakers instead are promising to spend the weeks ahead defining their different approaches to the sluggish economy. Democrats in the Senate rolled out an election-year agenda Wednesday in an appeal to middle-class voters. It includes new tax breaks for college and child care, and expanded refunds for lower-income workers. Democrats will also push for votes on extending unemployment benefits and raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour as President Obama has proposed.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday endorsed attorney Igor Birman, one of three Republican challengers hoping to take on the freshman Democratic congressman representing a Sacramento-area district. Paul's endorsement should help Birman's efforts to portray himself as the most conservative of the GOP challengers to Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove). And it brings more national attention to the race because Paul is being discussed as a likely presidential contender in 2016. Several Birman supporters, wearing T-shirts touting their candidate, attended a Paul speech last week in Berkeley.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari plans to unveil a jobs plan Tuesday that calls for tax breaks for job creators, fracking of some California oil deposits, reduced regulations on business, increased spending on water storage and capping certain legal payouts. The plan, to be released in San Diego, is the first policy the candidate has set forth since announcing in January that he would run for office. He faces a test, arguing against a popular incumbent in a Democratic-leaning state where unemployment has dropped 4.1 percentage points since Gov. Jerry Brown took office three years ago, dipping to 8% in February.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari unveiled a jobs plan Tuesday that calls for corporate tax breaks, hydraulic fracturing of some California oil deposits, reduced regulations on business and increased spending on water storage. The 10-point plan, focused on manufacturing, water, energy and the business climate, is the first policy Kashkari has set forth since announcing in January that he would run for office. The former U.S. Treasury official said his plan would "unleash" the private sector, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly's campaign appears to be on dire financial footing, according to disclosures filed with the state Monday that show he has less than $11,000 on hand and $148,000 in unpaid bills. Donnelly has long argued that he was running an unconventional campaign grounded in grass-roots support, not money. But in a state of nearly 18 million registered voters, he faces a steep hurdle to reach voters before June's “top two” primary. During the most recent fundraising period, from Jan. 1 to March 17, Donnelly raised $183,206.

A cherry farmer from the San Joaquin Valley holds the key to California Republicans' hopes of loosening Democrats' grip on the state Legislature. Andy Vidak, a Republican who owns an orchard in Kings County, stunned both parties last year with an upset victory in a Senate district where Democrats have a 22-point advantage in voter registration. He ran largely on the basics, promising to cure a shortage of both jobs and water in the agricultural district and oppose the costly bullet train proposed to split the Central Valley.

Here's what the United States has done so far in an attempt to deter further Russian incursions into Ukraine: applied two rounds of economic sanctions and asked Congress to approve $1 billion in loan guarantees for Kiev. Here's what President Obama says he won't do: "We are not going to be getting into a military excursion in Ukraine," he told a television station in San Diego last week. PHOTOS: A peek inside 5 doomed dictators' opulent lifestyles The president's careful response and unwillingness to consider military intervention has met with general support from other Democrats.

WASHINGTON - Hoping to get pot legalized in Nevada, an investment firm specializing in the fast-growing marijuana industry invited the ballot initiative's backers to pitch 150 financiers at a Las Vegas symposium. Within 10 minutes, they raised $150,000. Political contributors are not the only ones taking notice of the new realities of the marijuana business, said San Francisco-based ArcView Chief Executive Troy Dayton, who estimated his group would pump about $500,000 into pot this year.